He Sang, 'Hallelujah'

He Sang, 'Hallelujah'

Ivan
opened his study door with a heavy sigh.
Today had been long filled with meetings and never ending
reports. Lifting his head, the tall man
felt a small smile tug at his lips as he found a roaring fire in the
fireplace. The light cast off by the
flames filled the room enough for Ivan to leave the electric lights turned
off. Walking to his work desk in front
of the full length windows he laid his brief case down on the old wooden
surface. As his hands began to remove
his scarf and coat, deep indigo eyes stared out at the barren land that was Russia. Snow glistened in the moonlight untouched
saved for a small area just below the windows.
Soon the heavy coat was laid next to the brief case, and Ivan turned
back to his study. The overstuffed chair
in front of the fire beckoned his tired body to relax as the record player upon
the side table to the right of the chair promised to sooth his nerves. Yet before he could give in to the
temptation, the broad shouldered man eyed the many bookshelves covering all the
walls where ever there wasn't a window, the fireplace, or the door.

Dragging
his feet to one of the bookshelves, pale fingers trailed over the many records
that filled its depths. Ivan had always
liked records the best. There was
something wholesome, and all together fulfilling to the music etched into the
vinyl disks. Pulling his hand back to
run through his ashen hair, Ivan idly wondered where time had gone his eyes
still searching for the right record. Pausing,
Ivan pulled a record from the shelf and held it gingerly between his
hands. The cover was a plain cardboard one
with the title written in black sharpie; a homemade record. Ivan could have read the sharpie if he simply
tilted the record toward the fire, but the Russian already knew what song the
record held.

'Hallelujah'.

Smiling fondly at the record Ivan moved to the chair never taking his gaze off his
prize. Leaning over the arm rest, Ivan
gently pulled the record from its casing and set it on the record player. Pressing the necessary buttons and moving the
needle into place, Ivan released another sigh letting his head fall
backwards. The stuffing quickly molded
its self comfortably around Ivan having already memorized his body. Closing his eyes Ivan took a deep breath and
slowly released the air waiting as static currently filled the air. Suddenly sound began to fill silent study. A guitar pluck a few single notes followed by
a cord. After a pause the same notes and
cord repeated causing the melody to take on a longing almost nostalgic feeling
befitting of Ivan's mood. It has been 25
years since that day.

The
sun had been shining brightly that 4th of July.
The broad shoulder Russian had accepted his roommate's invention to stay
with his family for the summer holidays. Having spent the past year studying abroad in America the exchange student was glad to
take a break from the dorms. Although
Ivan never regretted his decision, there were moments when the heat had been
unbearable as the temperature raised above Russia's high of 70 degrees.
On that particular day he had taken refuge under a giant oak tree that held some
sort of sentimental significance to his roommate. Ivan remembered looking toward said roommate,
debating what type of revenge he wanted to seek out as retribution for his on and off discomfort.

Yet
all thoughts of revenge were blown away when indigo orbs had landed on
Alfred. Maybe it was years of
remembering that glorified the image, but in Ivan's mind he could picture the sun hitting the
younger college student's blond hair.
The warm beams of light appeared to ricochet in all directions giving
the man an unearthly feel as though Alfred himself was the embodiment of
sunshine. The American's blue eyes danced
in childish excitement behind his ever present eye glasses. A deep heartfelt laugh had escaped his pale red
lips which never seemed to do anything but smile idiotically. The
t-shirt Alfred had worn fit snugly to his lean frame, through leaving some
room for the imagination to roam. The logo proudly displayed on the chest was the symbol for a random super hero adored by Alfred. Simple cargo shorts were tied to his slim
waist with a webbed belt before hanging loosely around toned thighs leaving flip
flops to complete the comfortable summer look.

Why
Ivan had not noticed his roommate's beauty before then was still a mystery to the
Russian. Sure, the ashen haired man had found his
roommate attractive, something that was hard not to notice living in the same
room for the previous year. Ivan had
even developed a small crush on the blonde considering he had spent that summer melting in the
Texas heat instead of going home to the comforts of Mother Russia. Whatever the reason, it had been that moment when
Ivan truly saw how beautiful Alfred really was to behold.
The shock of the sudden realization left Ivan's memory fuzzy over how
they had got onto the topic, but somehow they had which resulted in Alfred grabbing his guitar. In his
mind Ivan could see Alfred strumming the same cord playing on the record. Red lips parted and Alfred began to sing.

I heard there was a secret
chord

That David played and it
pleased the Lord

But you don't really care for
music, do you?

Well it goes like this the
fourth, the fifth

The minor fall and the major
lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Ivan
took a shaky breath as Alfred's voice surrounded him filling every nook and
cranny of the empty study. That ability to
fill the area with his presence was a skill unique to the vivacious blonde. Ivan's right hand began to absently fiddle
with the band on his left ring finger. That
4th of July, Ivan had fallen head over heels in love with Alfred. The American had to be a sappy romantic and claimed he had fallen in love with Ivan the first day they met. Chuckling Ivan fondly.

Indigo eyes
fluttered opened and stared into the flames. As his thoughts continued forward, Ivan remembered the day he
proposed to his love. The blonde had been impatient, like always, and had popped the question first after their morning jog. Ivan had been put out at first having planned on proposing to Alfred that
same night. Those feelings were short lived when the Russian decided to continue with his plans much to Alfred's delight and slight
embarrassment. Shaking his head at the
memory, Ivan let his mind travel to the quiet wedding, then the reception and eventually
to the honeymoon.....

Well your faith was strong but
you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty and the moonlight
overthrew you

She tied you to her kitchen
chair

She broke your throne and she
cut your hair

And from your lips, she drew
the Hallelujah

Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

God
above the honeymoon. Ivan moaned closing
his eyes once again as excitement shot through his body. That night was the first time he had seen
Alfred's fully naked body. Both had
adhered to the romantic notion of abstinence as they worked to graduate college. For all of his bluster and confidence, the lithe man had been a blushing bride in all sense of the phrase. Ivan could almost once again hear Alfred
whining from the bathroom denying that there was a blush dusting his checks. His excuse for locking the bathroom door had
been to ensure he had a peaceful shower before the wedding night. Yet when Ivan finally picked the lock, the door had revealed a blushing
Alfred modestly covering his privet region. Beautiful.

As the years changed, Alfred's beauty never diminish.
Even as his body began to show the signs of middle age, Ivan still found new things attracting him to his partner. Ivan
smile turned wicked as he reached up running his left hand along the back of his chair. A section of the decorative frame was missing
making the whole backrest unsymmetrical. The proud Russian would never fix this chair; he would never remove the reminder of how much he needed Alfred. Dropping his arm, Ivan watched
as the flames burn intensely for a brief period as the fire found a new section of wood
to consume. As suddenly as it had flared
up the fire died back down; just like
Alfred’s temper in the beginning.

To
be fair, Ivan had been the cause most of the time. His pride had prevented the ashen haired man from opening up about his problems for a long time. The Russian's family was best described as a group of people that lived
together and was dependent upon his successful father rather than a nuclear
unit as was common in the American culture.
So when his parents died in a train wreck, Ivan tried to ignore his grief pushing
it as well as Alfred away whenever the blonde tried to comfort him in his
time of loss. Instead Ivan threw himself into
taking control of his father's company. Along the way, convincing himself that he was doing Alfred a favor by shielding the love of his life from Ivan's pain. In
the end all he had accomplished was almost running the company into the ground
along with his relationship with Alfred.
Yet his lover was persistent, steadfast and loyal. Even after Alfred had shouted 'Good riddance' to Ivan's retreating back, the blonde had been the one to seek out the other when the businessman
had not come to bed.

Alfred
had found the ashen haired man slumped in his chair ready to give up on everything. Somewhere among the apologies and a solid
promise to never leave his side, Alfred coaxed Ivan into opening his heart. When he had finally mourned for his parents
in the open, Ivan felt the return of his confidence and of hope. He doesn't recall ever telling Alfred, but the
minute the blonde had walked into the Ivan's study sunlight had filled the dark room. As red lips kissed pale ones, Ivan realized how
much he had missed the American in the time he had spent isolated by his
pride. Passionate sexual activities had followed shortly in Ivan's favorite chair. Words of love
and gratitude flowing from Ivan's mouth as Alfred's sunshine pulled the words from
him like the sun pulls spring flowers from the ground. Reaching their respective climaxes, Alfred's grip became tightened in just the right way causing a rather large piece of the
frame to break away. After that night
Ivan never wanted to be without Alfred.

Baby, I've been here before

I've seen this room and I've
walked this floor

You know, I used to live alone
before, I knew you

And I've seen your flag on the
marble arch

And Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken
Hallelujah

Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Regretfully
things didn't change overnight. No, both
men were still a little too proud, a little too independent and if they were honest spoiled rich kids who were used to having things their way. The next year to follow had been rough....to say the
least. Ivan propped his elbow on the arm
rest and leaned his cheek into his hand.
His eyes became brooding and the smile dropped from his lips turning
into a scowl. They had fought constantly. A few times the fight lasting for days on end,
with neither ever really winning the argument which in turn only seemed to fuel
them on the next time they started fighting. They had fought
over the stupidest things; which country would be their permanent home, what
holidays did they celebrate, where would they put the canned goods in the
cabinets, the list went on and on.

Most
days it probably looked like they weren't even married. Alfred living in America while Ivan worked in Russia. These periods of separation thankfully never lasted more than a fortnight before one of them would apologize. Slowly the scowl disappeared and Ivan's face
went back to one of pleasant reminiscing.
Eventually they figured out there been only one real fight; determining who was the dominate their relationship. Alfred would win the silly arguments, but in
the end Ivan was head of the household. As a result they settled into Ivan's family home, but once their
finances stabilized Ivan surprised Alfred with a summer home in the blue eyed man's hometown. Ivan felt the fond smile
steal across his face again, as he remembered Alfred decorating their houses for
every single holiday; American and Russian.
Ivan's amusement never ended as
Alfred pulled decorations seemingly out of nowhere considering the ashen haired man had never bought any in his life.

Well, there was a time when you
let me know

What's really going on below

But now you never show that to
me, do you?

But remember, when I moved in
you

And the holy dove was moving
too

And every breath, we drew was
Hallelujah

Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

After so long of perfecting the indent in the
couch, it had been strange to share a bed again.
The honeymoon was one thing, but now they would determined what
got annoying after seven consecutive nights. Ivan
would lay awake every night debating if he could pull Alfred close to him or if sex needed to happen first. Sleep would elude the Russian chased away by fear of making the wrong choice causing yet another bout of arguments. Ivan winced remembering the pain of denying himself his body its desires.

Yet
before Ivan could lose himself again, or permanently cause harm to his family jewels,
Alfred burst through like ray of sunshine dispersing all of Ivan's fears. Ivan took Alfred as though it was their
first time all over again. Thin lips had
kissed every inch of tanned skin, taking extra time on every mark that marred
the perfect body. Ivan pleasured his
sunlight until Alfred had been on the verge of begging. Then before he could ask, Ivan took him not
wanting to break the perfect moment. The
only physical noises that escaped them were their moans of pleasure and pants
of exertion. Yet in their hearts, they had
heard the other calling their name over and over as though reverently
praising the other for loving them unconditionally. Rejoicing in their love.

Maybe there's a God above

But, all I've ever learned from
love

Was how to shoot somebody who
outdrew you?

And it's not a cry, that you
hear at night

It's not somebody, who's seen
the light

It's a cold and it's a broken
Hallelujah

A
love that lasted and blossomed for another 17 years.
One that had grown to include two beautiful twins each one oddly enough
looking like a mix of the two adults.
Rebekka and Aiden kept them young at heart, through Ivan was sure both
his and Alfred's hair had grown several shades lighter during the terrible
twos. Ivan drew a shaky breath and he
knew his bottom lip quivered as bittersweet feelings followed those memories. There was no going back now, he had to let his thoughts keep going or he would not be able to move forward. For all his might the Russian couldn't stop the tears that misted his indigo eyes causing his vision to
bury.

They had been visiting
America. It had been a combination of
reasons, but the most important was to visit Alfred's parents so they could see
the grandchildren before school started again.
America's turmoil had been peaking during that time as rebels were a dime a dozen each supporting a
different cause or the same cause in a different way. Still nothing
ever pointed to the possibility of a threat toward Ivan and his family. During that vacation a large business gathering had been planned, and as CEO of his company Ivan was socially
obligated to join. Alfred was naturally by his side quietly slipping Ivan information when the Russian drew a
blank. The first indication that things were about to go horribly wrong was the sudden down pour of water from the sprinkler
system.

Shielding Alfred the best he
could from the raining liquid, Ivan guided them toward the buildings exit. Along the way they continued to run into
panic groups as people abandoned their common sense for panic. There was a
quick silent argument between them, but both came to the conclusion. Breaking
apart they began directing and leading people to the exits. Ivan never lost sight of Alfred always ready to go to his lover's side should the blonde need help.

The high
pitched squeal of compressed air escaping started just as Ivan reached the
first floor. Fear gripped his gut as did
a feeling of complete helplessness.
Looking back to Alfred, he saw the American standing halfway up the last
section of emergency stairs. Reaching
toward his ray of sunshine, Ivan prayed his lover would run to him and it was with immense
relief when Alfred did began hurry toward the exit. Ivan still can't remember any sounds, but other accounts claimed that a popping had echoed through the stairwell. The only sound in Ivan's years had the beating of his heart as Alfred suddenly pitched forward blue eyes going wide in surprise.

Running forward Ivan caught Alfred before the blondes pretty head could hit the concrete. Gathering
the limp body into his arms, the ashen haired man ran from the building straight to the nearest
ambulance. They never made it to the ER
drop off. The fixture that had been
blown free had tore straight through Alfred's
lung collapsing the organ. For many that
night it would be the first time they heard the heartbreaking scream that resounded
from the back of the ambulance. The hospital
staff who knew that sound did not need to see Ivan clutching Alfred's body, or dead expression that had taken the Russian's face when the nurses finally forced him to let go to know. The single cry had described the darkness
that had taken over Ivan's soul.

Hallelujah

A funeral was held shortly after the body was
released back to the family. A grand funeral, one fit for a
hero because that is what Alfred had been; a damn hero.

Hallelujah

The next couple of months following the
funeral were the most emotionally trying ones Ivan had ever lived through. His parents death had not prepared him for the pain of selling his and Alfred's house in America. Nor did it ease the weight of carrying out only half of the Last Will and Testament they had written together. Death was hard enough to handle without the added burden of burying part of your soul with the deceased.

Thankfully Ivan didn't have face this pain alone. Not only did the Russian have his children, but his in-law had been more than happy to help raise the children by moving to Russia. On the outside Ivan functioned the best he could putting on a strong
face for his company and family. All of
his free time was poured into his children doing the best he could fill the hole he they felt. Yet, when night fell and
Ivan was left completely alone, he mourned the loss of his sunshine. He would cursed the
selfish people who caused the accident, and eventually he simply honored Alfred's memory by
watching the cinephile's favorite movies.

Hallelujah

It had been the TV show 'Firefly' that final gave Ivan peace. As Malcolm Reynolds said, "If you can't walk you crawl and if you
can't crawl you find someone to carry you." Alfred had carried Ivan when he was at his
lowest. The blonde had made Ivan the strong man that he was now. If it weren't for Alfred being in his life,
Ivan would have grown up bitter and cold much like his own father. Instead
Ivan had earned the respect of his employees, and fellow
business associates. He had two children that were never afraid to come to him when they had a question. All the while inspiring Ivan with Aiden's loud laughter and Rebekka's heartfelt embraces. Alfred may have been physically gone. but as
he promised back in the very beginning he never left Ivan. Hallelujah for Alfred coming into Ivan's
life.

"Hallelujah,"
Ivan whispered the last 'Hallelujah' along with the record and the room fell
into silence. Two tears slipped down
Ivan's cheeks more threatening to push past his closed eyelids.

"Hey Papasha?"

Ivan bowed his head causing his bangs to covered
his eyes and turned so his ear so it pointed to the door of his study. "Da?"

A young man with dirty blond hair and blue
eyes stood halfway through the door. He body
was build similar to Ivan's when he was that age. Although the boy frowned slightly, it was
obviously more in confusion than true worry as those blue eyes danced in mischief. "Why are you sitting here in the dark
like a creeper from one of Granny's crime shows?"

Ivan released a breathy chuckle at the brash
youth. "Just listening to some
records, Aiden."

"Records?" Aiden gave his father a
dead look. "That is so old fashion.
I got you an iPod for Christmas, why don't you use it?"

Ivan let out a deep laugh though he still did not
show his face. The Russian's ever present pride not wanting his son to see the extra tears that had escaped when
Ivan had laughed. "Because I like
them that's why."

"Old man," Aiden muttered teasingly. Perking up blue eyes began to shine with
excitement. "We're going to play
some Monopoly. I came up to see if you
wanted to play as well?"

Ivan nodded his head ,"I will meet you
down stairs once I put my record away."

"Awesome.
I think tonight will be the night I win!" Aiden laughed triumphantly and started to
leave, but at the last second quickly stuck his head back into the study. "Hey Papasha, did Dad ever win at monopoly?"

Ivan nodded his head humming in amusement,
"All the time. You were too young
to finish the game, but after you went to bed he was ruthless." Aiden didn't say anything after that, but the sounds of his foot steps running down the hallway told Ivan he was once again by himself.

Turning to the record player, Ivan picked up
the record and slide it back into its case.
Just as the vinyl disk had nestled into place, two slender arms wrapped
around Ivan's neck. "Brother is a
fool to believe that you were listening to any old record." The female's voice was quiet and Ivan could
feel how perturbed Rebekka was through her hug.

Patting her arm Ivan whispered, "He is
just like his Papasha. Both of us do not handle
emotional situations very well."
Looking up, Ivan looked into the dark violet eyes of his daughter. If the twins had been born through a
surrogate, Rebekka would be the female
image of Alfred. Ivan smiled as he twirled
a lock of the sunshine spilling from his daughter's head.

Rebekka returned the smile knowing the
thoughts going through her Papasha's head. After a moment the teenager grew serious. "Papasha...do you ever hear Dad even
though he's not here?"

Ivan nodded his head slowly tears once again gathering in
the corners of his eyes. "All the
time." Cupping Rebekka's cheek he
pressed a quick kiss to her forehead while also pushing back the tears. "Now, let's go join everyone in the
dining room. We will show your brother that the
secret to winning is by stealthily gaining control of the board then crushing your
competitors hopes and dreams. Da?"

Rebekka's eyes closed as a wide smile took her
face. Giggling she gave her Dad a chaste
kiss before releasing him from her embrace.
Ivan stood up quickly going over to the bookshelf to put the
record away. As the cardboard case slide
into place, Ivan paused with his finger still on the record. "Happy Anniversary, Alfred." Ivan
whispered quietly.

Turning Ivan hurried to catch up to his
children, already the feeling of sunshine replacing the weariness in his heart. As Ivan put his hand on the door handle, he
felt two arms wrap around his waist. Although
the words were muffled by the crook of his neck, Ivan heard them clearly. "Happy Anniversary, Ivan."

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
Tabitha Craft

zoheusher20:
What more can I say? The writing style and little details drew me into the book and for the entirety of the story I was Juliet. I felt her turmoil and emotions and every trouble or triumph as they arrived. This story was very different and had quite a few little but unexpected twists that made it...

Marijana1:
The melancholy present throughout this story has the power to influence and etch into the minds of the readers, to stay there and refuse to leave even after they have finished reading the story. This is a deep, powerful story, making the readers wonder about everything – about love, about their e...

brettylee:
The narrative is slick yet punchy. Life, Family and Friends I believe is the core message so it’s easy to relate to. It’s surprisingly action packed. The author does a good job at keeping you guessing. Just when you think all is right, whack, the unexpected happens. The dialogue is energetic and ...

emmaneal74:
I loved this booked. Would definitely buy it when published and read it again. The story flowed in such a way I just couldn't put it down. I was never confused about the characters or their roles in the story which can happen sometimes with so many lead. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to r...

jessica12301990:
One of the best books I have read in a while. Could not put it down, loved the characters and how real they felt. Read from start to finish without putting it down. Really hope this gets published and when it does I will be first in line to pick it up.

Alex Rushmer:
This was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot Malfoy was always one of the characters that I liked a lot, so I like that a lot of this happens between him and Colette. I read the first couple chapters, and I enjoyed your writing style and am excited to see where you take this story. My com...

Sandra Estrada:
I loved every minute of it and I thank my lucky stars that brought me to the story, it's been a whirlwind of emotions, plot twist after plot twist but I never got tired of them. Abby and Kade's story is a hard one to understand but once you're submerged in their story and love, you can't help but...

Hudson:
Your story was fantastic Erin! The Rising Sun was one of the first stories I read on Inkitt, and I have to say I don't regret the three to four days I spent pouring through the story.Probably the biggest strength I see in your writing is your characterisation of Eliana, Oriens, and the rest of th...

Flik:
Hi! ^.^ huge fan of yours on ff.net! When I saw the note about this contest on The Way We Smile, I couldn't help but rush over here, create an account, and vote! XD Seriously love this story and would recommend it to anyone! :D best FT fanfiction out there. Amazing story, amazing concept that wa...

christylynnr5:
This was beyond amazing! I loved this book. The characters seemed so real. It was amazing how the author let Zak and Kaylees personalities slowly change. This story was very sad and eye opening. It could teach some people a very worthy lesson. It was a great combination of romance, mystery, and a...

ynez2005:
I LOVE THIS BOOK SOOOOO MUCH!!!!Though you really need to make another book,more Princesses!!! Whoooo!!!Girl Power!!!Mabey it could even be Devona's BFF???That would make it even better!!!Plus can you pleeease make Akki come back,together with Thea and Authur amd the whole family is back!Other th...

rihannabkj2:
Great story,I can hardly stop reading this novel. it shows that compassion and love can still exist after so many years between two persons. I most say well done to the Author who wrote this book. Others should read this book inorder to know that there can still be LOVE among two persons no matt...

maewilde25:
I liked this, though it dragged on for over 200pages and heaven knows I did not expect the plot twist in the middle. David being Cristiãn. I was wondering when he would show up and didn't know he was there all along. it looks like there should be a sequel, please let there be a sequel. I know the...

Giuliana Cassetta:
My face is full of tears, I never cried like now with a book or even a movie. I loved every single chapter. I truly don't know what to say, I'm out of words and my eyes hurt from crying. Such an bittersweet story, it's so wonderful. One of my favorites for sure. Keep it up!

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